Italian Val, Green Cabomba, and Ludwigia Repens Questions

This is a discussion on Italian Val, Green Cabomba, and Ludwigia Repens Questions within the Beginner Planted Aquarium forums, part of the Beginner Freshwater Aquarium category; -->
1) Can you grow those plants without Co2?
2) What fertilizers do you reccomend?
3) What lighting do they need?...

No. If you have absolutely no CO2, you will not grow plants.
Of course, if you have fish in the aquarium, they exhale CO2 into the water like we do, so that works well as long as everything is balanced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

2) What fertilizers do you reccomend?

Well if you want to go the route that most of the planted tankers use around here, then use plain gravel and Flourish comprehensive. That's all you need.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

3) What lighting do they need?

Depends on your tank size. Post how big your tank is, and what kind of fixture you have, and we can tell you what to buy.

I prefer soil tanks (I'm in the process of converting all of my tanks to soil). They do best with indirect sunlight in addition to a light source, but no ferts are needed. They also tend to grow a bit faster since the soil bacteria produce additional CO2.

The same. I love my Cabomba but I will tell you it looks nicest in groups of a couple of plants. You can create sort of a thick forest effect with it. The fish LOVE hanging out in there. I think they feel pretty hidden and safe.

The same. I love my Cabomba but I will tell you it looks nicest in groups of a couple of plants. You can create sort of a thick forest effect with it. The fish LOVE hanging out in there. I think they feel pretty hidden and safe.

I plan on using it for the back of my tank for hiding the heater. Also, I bet the fish will hide in it just like yours :) Do you have a Co2 system? What fertilizers do you use?

No, I get Co2 from the fish and I only add Seachems Flourish comprehensive supplement 2 times a week. I leave my lights on for 12 hours a day. They grow like weeds. They started out a little slow in my tank because I didn't think they were getting enough light. I had them under a giant ball of floating pennywort. I put a clamp light on them for a few hours a day for a couple of days and they took off.

I also have Ludwigia and it is alive but it isn't taking off like some of the other plants. I think it too enjoys a little more light. It is a pretty plant though. I just moved my Vallis to a different area of the tank so I will have to let you know how that works out. It was sort of hidden by the Cabomba that took off and filled out to be lovely. Sadly, I had a couple of inappropriate fish sold to me that started eating the forest and now I have to wait until it fills out again. Shouldn't take long.

You can add them all at once. Keep in mind they will grow and fill out so you don't want it so packed tight that the second they start to grow you start to prune. Think about how you want the tank to look. Do you like heavily planted tanks, lightly, somewhere in between? I myself love the look of a heavily planted tank. IF you decide to plant some of the root plants like the Swords, you will also need to add some root tabs to your substrate to give them more nutrients. They are beautiful plants and I much recommend them too. I love my Amazon Swords. They are bright green, full and tall. They fill out so nice.

Also, are you going to add some drift wood or rock? I added mine first and then planted around that. I also put in a few clay pots for fish to hide in and planted around them so they have some dark safe spots to hide. I love the look of a natural stream look. Well, the clay pots would have been tossed in but... you get the idea. Once the clay gets a bit of algae on it, it looks quite lovely as well.

Right now, I have a peice of driftwood soaking in a bucket. I will add it to my aquarium once I get my plants (ordered them from sweetaquatics yesterday). Do you have to slowly accumulate them to your tank so they can adjust to the temp, pH, etc.?